It was announced on Good Morning Britain that water companies have been ordered to pay back £158 million to customers via lower bills by the water regulator Ofwat.
The industry regulator’s decision follows its annual review of water and wastewater companies’ performance.
Customer satisfaction has also continued to decline, further justifying the penalty. Over a third of the £157.6 million relates to Thames Water, highlighting the company’s particular struggles.
Ofwat chief executive David Black warned that “money alone” would not resolve the issues plaguing the water industry.
Senior News Correspondent Jonathan Swain issued an update live on air.
Jonathan shared: “We have had years of polluted rivers, and beaches being closed because of sewage spills. Now it seems water companies are going to have to pay the price because water companies have been hit with a bill of 158 million pounds.
“They are going to have to pay that bill for missing their targets. Customer satisfaction continues to fall. We will have more on this in the next hour.”
However Ofwat chief executive David Black warned that “money alone” would not resolve the issues plaguing the water industry.
He emphasised the need for a fundamental change in company culture to address ongoing problems.
Ofwat’s assessment revealed a stark picture of the industry’s performance. Not a single company achieved the regulator’s top category of “leading”.
Anglian Water, Welsh Water, and Southern Water fell into the lowest category of “lagging”.
The remaining 10 companies were rated as “average”. Thames Water, previously in the “lagging” category, improved to “average” by meeting some performance targets on leakage and supply interruptions.
The regulator noted that these figures are provisional until a review process is completed.
This assessment comes amidst growing public and political anger over the privatised water sector’s performance on sewage spills and infrastructure maintenance.
Black, emphasised the need for substantial changes in the water industry.
He stated: “This year’s performance report is stark evidence that money alone will not bring the sustained improvements that customers rightly expect.”